GREENVILLE — A 21-year-old East Carolina University student has died after he fell from a tree and was impaled on a fence post.

Police said Jonathan Bennett was walking on a tree branch about 6 feet above the fence when the branch broke around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say the fence post went through most of Bennett’s chest and he was killed almost instantly.

Investigators say the tree had fallen on top of the fence, which appeared to have been built to contain debris when an apartment complex nearby was built.

Police are investigating the death. Investigators say Bennett and the four people with him may have been drinking.